I think there is a lot that I should not say right now, so I will be brief, but the collapse of General Motors makes me want to SCREAM!!!!Pictured to the left is an image of the Pontiac "J Car" that I lifted off wikipedia. I was just a kid when my father, a mid-level General Motors manager-executive, bought a new one of these for my mother and her long drive to and from work. It was a piece of #%^$ from the moment he brought it home, and that is a charitable statement coming from a pastor.
Look, I know that a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt by this, including MANY in my own family, but I can't see these headlines and ponder what is going to happen to my mother with the potential loss of my father's pension, and not think of the string of explitives that poured forth from my father's mouth when his brand new J car was falling apart. I can't help but think of the lessons on leadership that he gave that day. I was just a kid, but I vividly remember my dad talking about the better way of quality that he had learned while stationed in Japan in he early 1960s. I remember him being really *&^(& about that J car and telling me, basically, that union and management leadership failed in their moral responsibility to put the systems in place to build a better car when they knew it was possible.
Leadership makes a difference, and though I'm not an auto industry insider, it's impossible to avoid the conclusion that over the years the labor AND management leadership failed. To be sure, the quality of GM vehicles has improved markedly since that wretched J car, but any eejit with half a brain knew that the rise of the Eastern economies would at some point drive up demand for gas and that fuel prices would spike. Yes, all these manufacturers are being hit by a big storm, but some are weathering it better than others, in part, because they had the foresight to invest in less profitable products in the short term because it would better help them to prepare for the future or other eventualities.
To see a future problem and look the other way, or to know a better way and choose to ignore it, is not just a "mistake," it is a moral failure--dare I say?--a sin. This lesson applies in all areas of life. In fact, it's interesting just how often I think of that J car example in my pastoral work. It can be very easy for a pastor to see issues in his congregation and say to himself, "I'll leave it for the next guy to clean up." There is no faithfulness and love of neighbor in that sentiment.
Whether as a pastor or a parent or as a worker on the line or as a senior executive, part of our responsibility to our neighbor whom God has called us to serve is to--in the words of Martin Luther--"help him to improve and protect his possessions and income." The collapse of General Motors will be an abiding lesson to me about the consequences of bad leadership. It reminds me of how my father passionately rejected my occasional --to use his words-- "half-@#!" effort at my childhood chores and always encouraged me to "do it right the first time."
We have a moral responsibility to do the best we can at what God has called us to do. There is no other way.
No comments:
Post a Comment